Returning to England: Tying the Past and Present
by littlepenguingrl
Summary: Mina is sent to live in England. Will she be strong enough to stand up to her childhood nightmares and embrace everything it throws at her, including an old love and the return of Sailor V? R
1. The Pain of Leaving

I stepped out gingerly onto the sidewalk. The cold breeze nipped at my   
skin as I pulled my jacket tighter around my shoulders. Slowly, I   
pushed the car door closed before moving my bag up higher on my   
shoulder. Very timidly, I walked up the temple's stairs, trying my   
hardest to hold back my tears, but failing miserably. I stopped and   
turned back around to see if it wasn't too late to change my mind, but   
my father's car had already left, leaving just the cold breeze, my   
broken heart, and me alone to confront my friends. A heavy sigh escaped  
my throat as a tear drop fell from my eye. I quickly wiped it off. Be   
strong I told myself while attempting to smile. I forced my legs to move  
up the stairs, one foot after another, until I reached the top. Music  
flowed from the open door leading into the temple.  
  
Serena and Raye came running out towards me, newspaper in Raye's hand.  
Try as she might, Serena couldn't outrun Raye and got swatted a few   
times before they both stopped dead in their tracked when they saw   
me. " Mina.." Serena questioned, a look of concern appearing on her   
face. I tried to smile for her sake, but I just couldn't do it. I   
dropped my orange bag onto the ground before bursting into tears. Both   
Raye and Serena instantly attached themselves to me, embracing me in   
a hug. " Let's get you inside and then you can tell us what's wrong,"   
Raye whispered to me as she picked up my bag and led me inside. Lita   
and Amy both looked up as I came into the room.  
  
" Mina? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Amy asked me while turning the  
music down. Raye sat me down on the floor inbetween everyone. I looked  
around at each of the four girls. This only made me feel worse. I wasn't  
sure if I was even going to be able to tell them the bad news. I took  
the tissue that Lita offered me and took a deep breath. I twirled my  
blonde hair around my pointer finger before I began to speak.  
  
" I..I don't know how to say this (sniff). I'm going to miss you guys  
so much."  
  
I broke into tears again as memories began to flood into my thoughts.  
All the battles against evil, all the sleepovers, all the games at  
the video arcade, all the major crushes on the boys....  
  
" I'm sorry. This...this is difficult for me to say. Ok, here it goes.  
I'm...I'm going back to England (sniff). My parents are sending me back   
to live with Aunt Cl..Cl..Clara. I'm going to miss you guys so much!"  
  
" You're not serious, are you?"  
  
" England? When?"  
  
" You can't be leaving!"  
  
I grabbed another tissue as the four swarmed me and engulfed me in  
a big group hug. They began to cry along with me, seeing how serious  
of a matter this was.  
  
" Oh, Mina! Things won't be the same without you. What about the Sailor  
Scouts? What about everything?"  
  
I glanced up at Lita as she spoke. Little did she know that her words  
made me feel even worse. The mention of the Sailor Scouts reminded me  
of my alter ego back in England, Sailor V. All my problems from my  
past life attacked my thoughts harshly as I thought of Sailor V. I  
remembered the curse that Ace had put on me, the curse of never  
being able to be loved by a significant other. I thought of Alan and  
Katerina. Katerina, my best friend, stole the one boy  
that had mattered to me back then, Alan. His blue hair, his broad   
shoulders, his barely there smile... they all came floating back to  
me in my memories.  
  
" I can't..I can't go back to England!"  
  
" Oh, Mina! We'll miss you, but England will be fun. Just think, you  
get to visit with your childhood memories! Won't that be fun!"  
  
" Raye..you can't understand what this means. My childhood is the   
reason that I convinced my parents to move away from that damn city  
in England! And now look! My mother is sending me back there! She  
doesn't care about my feelings. She's just tired of dealing with me!"  
  
Another wave of tears hit me harder this time. My friends finally got  
the idea that this wouldn't be an easy or fun thing for me to go   
through with. They each took turns trying to comfort me, but nothing  
they said helped. They would never understand my past and they would  
never realize how hard it would be to be put back into it.  
  
" Can I use your phone, Raye?"  
  
" Sure."  
  
" I have to go home. My flight leaves in a few hours. I couldn't  
leave without saying goodbye."  
  
I slowly lifted my body off of the floor, even though it felt like  
I was carrying the weight of five sumo wrestlers. I craddled the phone  
to my ear as I lifted my shaking hand to dial my home number so that   
my dad would come to pick me up. Unfortunently, my hand trembled so  
much that I couldn't hit the little buttons. I carelessly let the   
phone drop to the floor as I slid down the wall until I was curled  
up on the floor with my face buried into my knees. Amy quickly came   
over and called my parents while the others gathered around, stroking  
my long hair and curling their heads next to mine. I seriously had no  
idea how I would ever be able to leave such good friends like these.  
  
***  
  
" The plane will be landing in ten minutes..." the pilot announced   
over the loud speaker system. It was followed by the current weather   
conditions and flight connection gates, but I ignored all of that.   
I opened the box that I had resting on my lap and looked inside. The   
card, stationary, comminicator, stuffed kitten, and phone card still   
sat inside, as it had for the last few hours. I couldn't stop myself   
from taking a peek inside every few minutes to make sure that   
everything was still there. At the airport back in Japan, the scouts  
and my parents said their last goodbyes before sending me on my way  
to England. The scouts had presented me with this box and made me   
promise to call them as soon as I had settled in. At the same time,  
I also made a promise to myself try and be happy and open to whatever   
may happen in England.  
  
The plane landed smoothly on the ground a few minutes later. It took   
forever to clear the plane out, but I was so relieved to stretch out  
my cramped legs that the wait was well worth it. I rushed over to  
the luggage area, well aware that Artemis would be grouchy. He hated  
being tossed around in the cargo area of planes. I found all of   
my luggage and Artemis within a few minutes. Walking out of the   
luggage claim, I saw what looked to be a much younger version of   
my mother.  
  
" Aunt Clara?" I questioned as I moved closer to the short, blonde  
lady dressed in pink. She looked over at me with a humongus smile  
as she pulled me into the tightest bear-hug I had ever been put into.  
  
" Is that you, Mina darlin'? You've grown! What's the sister of mine  
been feeding you?" she laughed as she took some of my suitcases and  
poked a finger into Atremis' cage to scratch his chin. She then led   
me out to her bright green car.   
  
" It's so nice to have you staying with us, Mina! Franky and I are  
really gonna enjoy having you!"  
  
" How is Uncle Franky?"  
  
" Oh, he's quite good for an old timer (laughs). His hairs growin'  
thin, but you didn't hear that from me (winks)."  
  
Aunt Clara continued talking non stop the entire ride to her home.  
I couldn't help but smile as she told me everything about her life.  
She was so carefree, the total opposite of my stressed and forever  
yelling mother. Maybe this won't be so bad after all I thought to  
myself as she pulled into a long driveway.   
  
The house was too big for just two people to be living in. It was  
two stories tall and painted brown. The inside had a beige theme  
to it that was nice and relaxing. Uncle Franky threw open the front  
door to greet us and help with the bags. He too embraced me in a  
big hug. As soon as we had gotten everything inside, Uncle Franky  
grabbed my arm and dragged me upstairs.  
  
" You'll have plenty of time to explore the house later. Let's go  
check out your room, shall we?" he laughed excitedly. When we   
reached the end of the staircase, he opened a door at the end of   
the hall. The room was painted in light orange and the bed was  
made up with orange sheets and tons of fluffy pillows. On the bed   
laid a box with a butterfly pattern on it. " You have to check  
out the balcony," my Uncle said as he threw back the curtains and  
pulled open the door. We both stepped out. A small table and chair  
were set out already. The view was a grassy hill with a playground   
on it while the ocean filled the background. " Ain't it sorta   
pretty? I love the ocean in the background. You should go visit it   
sometime soon," he said as he sat down in the metal chair. Looking   
around, I noticed that the houses around here were pretty close   
together. " Let's head back in," Uncle Franky said as he heaved   
himself up and walked back inside. 


	2. A New Life, An Old Memory

Even though it took only an hour, it felt like an eternity before I had   
all of my belongings unpacked. I headed downstairs as soon as I finished  
to ask Aunt Clara if I could use her phone to call my friends back in  
Japan. To my great suprise, Uncle Franky was standing on top of the   
coffee table, doing a victory dance. Aunt Clara sat laughing in the big,  
brown rocking chair.   
  
" Um...what's going on?" I questioned as I stepped off of the last step  
and walked up next to Aunt Clara's chair in the living room. She nodded  
towards the tv set, which was blaring loudly with the sounds of an   
announcer screaming "Gooooooooooooooooooooal!". At the bottom of the  
screen, a small scorebox showed that Manchester was playing Liverpool.  
So far, the soccer game appeared to be going in Liverpool's favor.  
  
" Ha! Did you see that beauty, Brandon? What a kick! Fantastic!" Uncle  
Franky remarked as he stepped off the table and sat back down on the   
couch. I looked around the room to figure out who this Brandon person  
was, but I didn't see anyone. He must be loosing it I thought. I leaned  
over to Aunt Clara and asked her if I could use the phone to call Raye.  
She nodded as Uncle Franky cranked up the volume and began yelling for  
that Brandon person to hurry up.  
  
I quickly walked into the kitchen while rubbing my forehead, which  
was beginning to hurt from the loudness of the tv. Sitting down on top  
of the counter, I picked up the phone and started to dial when I noticed  
that the refrigerator was open. Another loud outburst came from the   
living room. The noise in the house was getting way too loud, so I   
decided to call my friends later. Just as I was about ready to get up and  
close the refrigerator door, it closed on its own. To my suprise, a guy  
a little older than me straightened up, his arms full of food. His mouth  
was stuffed full of the half eaten sandwhich that laid in one of his   
hands. " Sup?" he mummbled, barely understandable from having a full  
mouth. He sauntered out of the room without another word. A few seconds   
later, Aunt Clara walked in.  
  
" Hello Mina dear. I see you met Brandon. I ment to warn you when you  
first arrived, but it totally slipped my mind. As you can tell, a   
soccer games on right now. The house is always beyond hectic when one  
is on. I swear, those two act so childish when one of those stupid  
teams score a goal!"  
  
" If you don't mind me asking, who is Brandon?"  
  
" Oh, he's renting a room of ours. Franky and him are good friends. He's  
more or less like a family member to us. Don't you mind him though, he's   
a nice young lad. I bet you'll come to like him. I do believe he's   
around your age!"  
  
" Okay...um, I couldn't call back to Japan. Little too nosiy, I'll try   
again later."  
  
" Wise decision. During a soccer night, it's always wise to do nothing  
but sit along with those two dorks and watch. Come on, sweetie. Let's  
go bare through it."  
  
I followed her back into the living room. Brandon and my Uncle were   
currently yelling at the tv as if that would persuade the officals to   
change thier call. I curled up on the other couch, which gave me a clear  
view of both Brandon and the tv. Brandon was actually very tall, quite   
more so than Uncle Franky, who was by no stretch of the imagination short.   
Brandon's intense green eyes were fixed on the tv screen as he jumped   
up from his seat and high-fived Uncle Franky. The light brown stubble   
on his face perfectly matched his light brown hair that was spiked back.   
He wasn't too bad to look at, but nothing special. Nothing like Alan....  
  
I quickly stopped myself from thinking of Alan. Truthfully, I was   
secretly hoping to run into him some time, assuming that he still lived   
in England. I was brought out of my small daydream of Alan when a news   
commercial came on, showing a small clip of a local bank being robbed.  
  
" Too bad for the banks! What's that, the third in the last week to get   
hit? Looks like the police could sure use some help," Uncle Franky   
commented.  
  
" You guys remember about 3 years back? There was some crime fighter in   
town. Oh, I don't remember her name...Rescuer C...Scout something...Oh,  
I don't remember. Anyways, she would have put those bank robbers in  
their rightful place! Wonder whatever happened to her..." Aunt Clara  
remarked. She scratched her head as she tried to remember the name.  
  
" Oh, oh! Wasn't it Sailor C or something like that?" Brandon asked her.  
  
" Sailor V," I quietly said while diverting my eyes to the tv.  
  
" Yeah, I think that's it Mina dear! Where you around when she was?"  
  
" I was, Aunt Clara. I'm sure that Sailor V is around somewhere," I  
responded, not really wanting to say more.   
  
I felt uncomfortable under the 3 pairs of eyes looking at me. I feared  
that I had said too much, but as soon as the game came back on, all the  
attention was focused back on the tv. Once the game ended, I got bored  
of watching the highlights from the other games playing across the   
world. I quietly got up and went back up to my room. Half way up, I   
decided to take a stroll around the city and get reacquainted with my   
childhood.  
  
The city was just as I had remembered it, an old scenic place with tons  
of trees and buildings. After looking around for awhile, I realized   
that I had ended up at the old park that my friends and I use to hang   
out in. I walked deeper into the woods until I found the bench were   
Alan, Katerina, and I use to sit. To my suprise, Katerina was sitting  
on it. She was looking around as if she was waiting for someone, but   
her eyes instantly stopped when they saw me.  
  
" No, way...Mina? Is that you?" she questioned, a look of total shock  
appearing on her face as I came closer. I stopped in front of her.  
She still had the same short brown hair and dull blue eyes that I   
remembered her having. I slowly sat down next to her, but didn't  
look her in the eye.  
  
" Hi, Katerina."  
  
" I haven't seen you in ages. I thought you were dead! Why didn't you  
tell me that you were going to leave?"  
  
" Must have slipped my mind.."  
  
" Silly goose...of course it didn't. You know, you had Alan and I   
really worried!"  
  
" Alan? Is he still around?"  
  
" Of course, HE wouldn't leave me without saying anything! As a matter  
of fact, he's suppose to be meeting me here any minute now!"  
  
" Oh..."  
  
Katerina chattered on about something or another, but I had tuned her  
out. Even after all these years, I still hadn't fully gotten over  
the fact that she had won Alan's heart and not me. I glanced over my  
shoulder just in time to see a guy walking up. Blue hair, tall, a   
barely there smile on his face...it was undoubtfully Alan. I heard  
Katerina squeal as she stood up and ran over to him. They embraced   
each other before Alan planted a big kiss on her lips. As much as I  
hated to see them together, they did make a cute couple and were  
obviously madly in love with each other. It took all my strength to  
keep from bursting into tears over my broken heart.   
  
" Allen, look who's here! It's Mina!" Katerina squealed as she grabbed  
his hand and dragged him over to the bench.   
  
" Do I know a Mina?" he questioned as his eyes flashed over me quickly.  
  
He doesn't even remember me I realized. My heart sank even lower. Alan  
turned his attention back to his girlfriend, who playfully slapped him  
on the arm for not remembering me. I couldn't believe that the one guy  
who had mattered so much to me didn't even remember who I was. Not   
being able to stand any more of this reunion from hell, I quickly stood  
up and ran away as fast as I could without saying another word. 


End file.
